[Image: Charlie Lund at Pigeon Point.] I’ve had the photo above for quite some time. When I first got it, I thought, it’s Pigeon Point, then I thought I’ve never heard of the Beadle Bros: It couldn’t be Pigeon Point! … Continue reading →

Story by John Vonderlin (email John: benloudman@sbc.global.net Hi June, Knowing a picture can be worth a thousand words you might want to include the picture numbers from the California Coastal Records Project (CCRP), that cover the Lou Denny Wayne shipwreck … Continue reading →

Story by John Vonderlin (email John: benloudman@sbcglobal.net) Hi June, As you detailed in your book Half Moon Bay Memories, Pigeon Point’s history has been punctuated by a series of disastrous shipwrecks. The grounding, the night of November 28th, and subsequent … Continue reading →

The Cemetery in the Sand Dunes In the summer of 2001 something white in the sand caught the eye of a hiker as he walked among the wind-eroded dunes near Point Ano Nuevo. There was something about it that made … Continue reading →

The wreck of the Hellespoint fed fuel to a growing movement seeking government funds for construction of a lighthouse along this notorious stretch of shoreline…but when they first chose to buy Ano Nuevo, and finding the asking price too high, … Continue reading →

[Note: I wrote this in 1977.] The voyage was not a smooth one as Frederick Wilson steered the American ship, Hellespont, along the rocky California coast in November of 1868. Not only dark weather but ruthless winds and a boiling … Continue reading →

[Note: I wrote this in 1977.] In 1867 tragedy struck again…this time the British bark, Coya, carrying a cargo of coal from Newcastle rammed a reef near Franklin Point. The Coya, whose 27 passengers included three women, turned over and … Continue reading →

[Note: I wrote this in 1977.] While searching for San Francisco in 1865, the American clipper, Sir John Franklin, lost her way in a dense fog and mountainous sea. When the weather cleared some 24 hours later, the captain viewed … Continue reading →

[Note: I wrote this in 1977] When the ship Carrier Pigeon vanished into a thick blanket of fog somewhere near Point Ano Nuevo in 1853, Captain Azariah Doane desperately sought to determine his bearings. Captain Doane little realized then that … Continue reading →